


Running

by FBIOpenUp



Series: The Runaway Child [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Blood and Injury, Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, Fist Fights, Gen, Late Night Conversations, Luz Noceda Angst, Murder, Non-Graphic Violence, Running Away, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26689723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FBIOpenUp/pseuds/FBIOpenUp
Summary: Luz meets The Owl Lady, a woman known for running away from the law.And she's exactly who she needs right now.
Relationships: Camila Noceda & Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda
Series: The Runaway Child [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942183
Comments: 8
Kudos: 145





	1. Pain

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So first off, I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes and errors, this format is a little new to me and I don't have a beta reader. So we just gotta hope I catch anything big in the drafts when I go to reread them. 
> 
> Secondly, I was struggling to find out what grade Luz would be in, mainly because I don't know her birthday (if you know it could you please tell me so I can fix that) and so I decided that in canon if she went back home, she would be fresh out of 8th grade and thrown into highschool.
> 
> I made Luz 15 here, almost through her freshman year, but as the story goes on she'll get older. 
> 
> Since she didn't go to the Boiling Ilsles, yes she did go to the reality check camp. I will make a part to this AU about her experience with it too, no worries. That's also why she's a little OOC here and somewhat more edgy and less childlike.
> 
> That's all I have for now, but if you have any questions about certain things, please feel free to ask! 
> 
> Alrighty on to the story, I hope you enjoy!

When Luz Noceda first woke up that morning, she expected this day to be like any regular Sunday. 

Eat breakfast, say bye to Mami as she left for work, and then stay in her room drawing or reading, maybe even writing something. If she felt like it, she might go out to the local thrift store and look for any items that might peak her interests.

What she didn't expect was for her mother to be sitting in the living room couch with two police officers. 

When they turned to look at the girl, Camila Noceda tensed up, before smiling at her daughter. 

"Buenos Dias, Mija," she greeted tiredly, "Could you.. please come here for a bit?" 

She sounded.. sad? Angry? Confused? Luz wasn't sure. But there was something you could definitely hear in her tone.

Fear. 

Luz nods and asks, "¿Que pasa, Ma?" Slowly but surely, she made her way down the stairs, next to her mom.

One of the officers clears his throat to get their attention, turning to Luz, he starts to ask away.

"So, Miss Noceda, I assume you've heard of a certain incident regarding a classmate of your's?"

Luz shook her head, no. 

"Does the name Ethan McCoy ring a bell?"

Luz visibly winced just from hearing the name. How could she not know him? He's the cliche popular guy in her school. The wealthy, smart, athletic, good-looking, social butterfly who every girl had a crush on at one point.

He's also the douchebag that has tormented Luz her whole school life. From her elementary days to her now freshman year. Luz hated him with absolute passion. 

She clenches her fist and simply nods, not trusting her words to come out calmly.

The second officer, who has been quiet this whole time, writes something down in his note pad, as the first one continues.

"Were you two well acquainted?"

"No.. we didn't.. get along very well."

"Right. And you haven't heard what happened to him, is that correct?"

"Correct.. since, uh, I just woke up and everything."

The officer looks at her curiously, clinging onto every word with interest. Luz felt the tension in the room suffocating, so much so, she wanted to run as far away as she could.

When the officer spoke his next words, though, her heart stopped. 

"Ethan McCoy was murdered yesterday night."

Huh? 

"Where were you the night of his murder?"

What?

"Answer honestly please... for you and your mother's sake."

Her throat went dry. She wanted to answer that it wasn't her. Because Luz wouldn't kill anyone, she wasn't that type of person. Had she cursed Ethan many times? Yes, but did she ever want him dead? ...also yes, but not literally! She just wanted him to leave her alone. 

She felt cold, not only because Ethan had been murdered. No, that wasn't why she was scared and almost shaking. 

It's because they think Luz did it.

"I was.. home.. in my room," she answered. That wasn't a complete lie, she was at home at one point yesterday night. She just.. wasn't sure when. Her mom comes home at around 11, and since she was home a few hours after Luz arrived it couldn't be that far off. Right?

"You and Mr. McCoy were supposed to meet at around 6 yesterday, correct?" 

Luz swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. 

"What for exactly?"

"C-Class..work.. he asked for help with an assignment our teacher gave us for art." More like forced her into it. Luz was average in most classes, but she excelled in art and unfortunately, she was the victim of many students who didn't have her natural love or talent for the subject. Ethan was one of them.

"Please tell me what you two were doing that day."

So Luz told him how they 'agreed' to meet at a small cafe and how she willingly helped Ethan understand the assignment, and demonstrated how to do it properly. In reality, it was her doing all of the work, while he sat there on his phone, only speaking when he wanted to insult her.

She also left out the part where she told him to fuck off and so he took her into an alley way to beat her to a pulp. He didn't touch her face, only punched her stomach and kicked her a few times. She hated walking home that day, everything hurt and ached, telling her to stop before she injured herself even more.

The only reason she kept going was so she could get home before her mom and clean herself up a little. If her mom saw her like that, she would've caused a riot and went to complain to the school about Ethan. They wouldn't believe her and Luz would get tormented even more. Definitely not worth it. 

"And after that, we said our goodbyes and I came home and ate dinner. My mom came home a few hours later, but I was asleep by then."

The questioning officer gives his partner a chance to scribble everything he heard, before giving Luz a stone cold look. 

"Is that the truth then?" 

"Yes.. that's everything.."

"We've heard from certain sources that you particularly disliked Mr. McCoy.. what do you have to say about that?"

That's the only truthful thing she's heard about this all.

She put on a fake smile, and shook her head.

"I had nothing against him."

Lie.

"I am.. sorry this had to happen to him.. truly.." That wasn't a complete lie. While Ethan was an asshole, he was also a human being who could've changed. His life was taken away forcefully, she can't not feel bad.

The officer only stares at her. He agrees with her and stands up. His buddy finishes his writing and stands up with his partner as well. 

They both thank the mother and daughter for their time and make their way to the exit. Camila stands up as well, following them out the door. 

Luz can tell they're talking outside. About what? She doesn't want to know.

When her mom comes back inside, Luz gives her a questioning look.

_'What happened?'_

Camila simply shakes her head, and turns towards the kitchen, probably to make herself and Luz something for breakfast. 

Unfortunately, Luz isn't hungry anymore. 

* * *

So far, this week, was the absolute worst.

Not only because, well, it was a new week of school. No, the main reason is the news of Ethan. There wasn't a single person in town who didn't know of the McCoy murder. Not to mention the name McCoy was famous around certain tech industries, that's what made it spread faster.

Because of this, everyone knew the main suspect in the case too. 

Luz Noceda. 

People had a lot of theories, but most of them revolving around Luz. The theories ranged from killing to boy because of jealousy, hatred, or even just because she's a psychopath. 

The McCoys had practically begged for cops to just arrest her, since she's 'the only one who could've done it'.

So when Luz got to school that following week it was absolute chaos.

She'd heard most of the insults.

Weirdo. Freak show. Disgusting. Abomination. Creative, right?

But the ones that started to get on her nerves were the more... Sinister ones. 

Killer. Murderer. Psycho. Sociopath. 

The first few days of classes she tolerated it. Because only she knows she didn't actually kill him, she wasn't the one who was involved in this. But then it got irritating, accusing someone of murder wasn't to be taken lightly. 

The final push was on Thursday, when a boy loudly yelled, "IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU INSTEAD, YOU FUCKING FREAK!"

The next few minutes felt like a blur, as the textbook infront of Luz connected with the boy's face. Afterwards, she ran outside the classroom, slamming open the double doors that stood in her way of the outside world. 

Behind her, three boys, including the one she hit, called out to her angrily.

Fuck, she could hear their footsteps behind her.

Thanks to adrenaline, jumping over the school fence wasn't all that bad looking anymore, and she scaled it like her life depended on it. Which it did. She didn't give it any time, as soon as her feet hit the ground, she booked it.

And so, Luz ran and didn't look back. To where exactly, she wasn't sure. She simply chose a direction and went as fast as she could without stopping. She thanks her mom for signing her up for soccer at one point, or else this would hurt a lot more.

Not to mention she was still only semi-better from the last beating McCoy gave her.

God, she hopes he burns in hell. 

* * *

"Shit!" Luz loudly curses, cradling her left arm where a tree branch had teared through her sweater and skin. She now knows, running into the forest near her home and hoping she'd have enough energy to make it was a stupid idea. Blood pools down into her palm and before she can decide to stop for a bit she hears yelling behind her.

"Get back here, Noceda! I'm gonna make you pay, you insufferable bitch!"

Damnit, she almost forgot about them. 

Her lungs burned, their need for oxygen suddenly the only thing her mind is focused on.

And then she trips. On a stupid tree root. Oh god, she's dead.

The three boys quickly spot her on the ground and rush over. Luz scrambled to get up, not caring about her previous wounds anymore, just about the ones she's about to receive. 

Finally standing up, she takes a step, ready to run again. Unfortunately, she gets tugged back down, landing on her back painfully. 

Two of them grab her roughly, slamming her into a tree face first. She lets out a few yelps of pain as her head starts pounding.

Just as quick and rough as before, she gets flipped, her back now against the tree. The boy she hit earlier takes a step closer to her and now Luz can see what she's done.

His nose was bloody, a red mark left where he received the textbook to the face. Luz was satisfied enough to smile.

"The fuck you looking at like that, freak?" 

Luz laughs, she's probably going to be left for dead here anyways, what's the point of holding back?

"You look like absolute shit, Thomas," she says with a snarl. Fuck him, honestly. 

She barely registered his expression before he swung his fist back and hit her directly in the face. Thomas grabs her by the hair, making her look up at him, his height being the advantage. 

"I'm going to make you regret that, bitch."

"Wow, I'm so fucking scared. I'm shaking, can you feel my fear? You self-centered assho-"

She was interrupted by a hit to her abdomen, pain shooting up and down her torso. She doubled over, her legs giving up on her, finally feeling the ache of her earlier run. She's now on her knees, her arms still bound behind her back by the two boys.

She looks up, only to be met by Thomas's knee, hitting her directly in the nose. She groans, cursing silently in her head. The action is repeated multiple times, a few kicks were served too. Some punches were handed, and Luz feels herself on the verge of screaming. 

She gets a small break, and tries to get up and run again. Her legs get taken out rather quickly, and again she's back on her knees. Thomas stands tall and powerful, more so compared to her bloodied and almost limp body. 

Luz starts to fade in and out of consciousness, her eyes half lidden and cloudy. 

"Any last words, Noceda?"

Yeah, actually there is something important he must know. It's not a secret, but he should know nonetheless.

"Fuck you," she replies and then she proceeds to spit on his shoe, the mix of blood and saliva dirtying his expensive shoes. No mercy, right?

He growls and gets ready to kick her one last time, and Luz closes her eyes, getting ready for the impact. 

Instead she hears a gunshot. 

Fucking hell... Well if she wasn't dead before, she definitely is now.

The boys drop her, making her land on her face, the taste of dirt making its way into her mouth.

From her position on the ground, she can hear a voice yelling something she can't quite make out. She sees Thomas and his group of strays run away, not even bothering to spare her a second glance. 

She sees a figure above her, but can't quite make them out. All Luz knows is that they're there, and probably going to kill her. 

Then she closes her eyes, darkness, pain, and the taste of blood numbing her senses and knocking her unconscious.


	2. Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz wakes up somewhere she doesn't recognize. 
> 
> Turns out whoever found her in those woods only wanted to help.

When Luz somewhat regained her senses, she didn't open her eyes immediately. She didn't want to anyways. Instead, she tried to make out where she was, without any visuals.

She was laying down.. in a bed? Maybe a couch, but it was definitely more comfortable than the ground she was previously on. It was also way warmer, she almost felt the need to take off her sweater. Almost. 

When she finally did open her eyes, she noticed she couldn't open her right eye. Her hand reached up to touch it and she felt soft fabric on it. Looking down at her arm to see the damages to her grey sweater, noticing it was wrapped up in gauze

She lifted herself, mainly to get a better view of where she was, and immediately regretted it. She painfully winced at the throbbing pain coming from her torso. When she lifted the sweater to check gently, it was also wrapped up, like her arm and head.

She checked her legs, only slightly mad at the torn fabric of her jeans. They seemed in a relatively good state, despite being very sore. Her shoes on the other hand were not, the already worn out sneakers looked.. well, like shit. 

She stands up, but her legs wobbled and couldn't keep her up for long. She sat back down quickly, gritting her teeth when she hit her back harder than anticipated. 

Instead of hurting herself even more, she decided to look around where she was exactly.

The interior of the place was definitely a cabin, a fireplace located on the left side of the room, a rug and chair in front of it. She was on a small couch, while it was slightly worn out, it was definitely comfortable. A hall on the right side of the fireplace lead down to two doors. 

Luz assumes one is a bathroom and the other an actual bedroom. Kitchen utilities are also on the left side, such as a stove, microwave, and a fridge. How someone got electricity here was anyone's guess.

Overall, this place isn't too shabby, it's pretty cozy if she says so herself. Then she remembers, she actually has no idea where she is and who brought her here. That made alarm bells ring inside her head, survival instincts slowly kicking in. 

She once more, attempts to stand up properly to no avail.

_Again._

_..._

**_Again._ **

...

_**AGAIN.** _

"Y'know kid, if you keep doing that, you'll be stuck here longer than necessary."

Luz snapped her head towards where the voice came from. A woman in a red dress stood there, looking less than amused. Her golden fang, heterochromic eyes, and wild silver mane struck Luz as kind of badass looking. Her arms were crossed over her chest, a brush in her hand.

The woman raises an eyebrow, looking at Luz suspiciously.

"So.. care to explain what the hell you were doing all the way out here? Getting your ass handed to you, might I add.."

Instead of answering, Luz panics and asks questions of her own, "Who are you? W-Where am I? Why am I.. here? Are you going to.. hurt me?" Her voice was raspy, weak from not being used in who knows how long. Even so, you could hear the slight distress in her tone, despite trying to come off as scary.

The woman's gaze softened a little, and she made her way to Luz, careful not to scare the teen too much. She sat down gently next to her, lowering her voice as to not intimidate her.

"Hey, it's alright. You're inside my temporary place, but don't worry, civilization isn't that far from here. I brought you here after I found those heathens treating you like you're their personal punching bag. And no, I am not going to hurt you. In fact, I patched you up pretty well, didn't I?" The woman gives a small smirk, hoping her attempt to lighten up the mood works a little. 

Luz slowly nods, taking in the situation little by little. For now, the woman seems to be.. nice. She relaxes a little, letting go of some tension. She didn't know why, but the woman seemed to have the right intentions. She did help Luz when she could've just left her there. 

"Thank you.. uh..?" 

"Eda.. you can call me Eda," Eda grins, extending her hand for a proper greeting. 

Luz can't help but smile back, "Thank you, Eda. I'm Luz," she replies shaking Eda's hand with her still working one.

At the mention of her name, Eda hums thoughtfully, and oh no. Luz knows exactly how this is going to go. Eda is going to find out she's the one who 'killed Ethan McCoy' and kick her out. Then she's going to have to crawl home in the cold, looking like a mess.

She is going to have a hard time explaining this to her mom. 

Wait, shit, her mom! 

She looks at Eda desperately asking her the time. 

"Well, you were out cold for a few hours. It's around 2 am, last time I checked."

Oh fuck, oh shit, oh god no.

"I need to get home. Right. Now." Eda looks at her like she's crazy, which she probably is. Her mom is going to question where she was, and she was going to have to explain. No, no, no, she was not ready for that conversation yet.

"Slow down, kiddo, you're not going anywhere. Not like that anyways."

"But.. but I have to! My mom's probably worried sick! I left my phone at home too and everything! Fuck, I can't go home like this.. what am I going to do?" She groans into her hands. 

Before she descends further into her own head, she takes deep breaths. Right, people think, she needs to think. Come up with something, and quick.

"Alright, you have two options," Eda's voice breaks Luz from her train of thought.

"You can, one... Crawl home now and explain to your mom why you're dressed as a mummy in April," Luz almost laughs at that, "Or two... Wait until tomorrow when you're feeling better, when you can actually walk." 

"Why can't you take me home?" From the perspective of Luz, it seemed like a good idea to have Eda as an alibi. Sure, she'd get scolded for trusting strangers, something normal people didn't do, but it's still better than saying, 'Yeah I smacked a kid with a book and he beat me up in the forest'.

"Haha.. I don't think your mom would.. like to you with me.. for certain reasons.."

Now, that caught her attention.

"Why not? Do you two know each other or..?"

Eda sighs, "Not exactly.. uh you see, I'm kind of.. recognizable," she says cryptically. Luz still has no idea what she means.

"Because...?"

"I'm The Owl Lady," Eda says dramatically, like it's a curse she's been fighting against her whole life. 

Luz blinks.

"Oh.. cool.. is that like a stage name.. or something?" she questions, genuinely confused why being an owl lady is a bad thing. Eda simply stares at her confused. 

"You.. you don't know who I am?"

"No clue.. I don't keep up with many main stream shows. Or artists," the young teen embarrassingly admits.

Eda lets out loud laugh, slapping her knee. Luz, confused and lost, fake laughs with her, assuming something she must've said was funny. She had no idea what it was, but it had to be good to get the woman to laugh like that.

"I knew my sister was just exaggerating about my crimes! Hahaha! Just you wait, Lily!"

Luz finally let's the words sink in, "Wait, crimes? You're a _criminal_?!" 

"Criminal is not the word.. I prefer the term.. Bad girl. Sounds a lot better, don't ya think?"

"N-Not really," Luz says nervously, "Please don't tell me that I've been trusting a criminal with my safety."

"Bad girl," Eda corrects, "And no, the worst thing I've done is maybe steal a few TV's from Best Buy... And a few other cool electronics."

When she sees the bewildered look on the teen girl's face she quickly adds, "Don't worry, they were on sale."

Eda shakes her head, "We're getting off track, anyways," she becomes serious once more, "So tell me, Luz. What are you gonna do?"

Luz is, more or less, stuck. She doesn't want to ever go home again, knowing her mom will be there wanting an explanation. But she also knows it would be best to go now. On the other hand, Eda is right.

If she goes home, not being able to walk properly, wrapped up, and bruised, she'd have too much explaining to do for one night. Her mom would probably call the police and then another case would be opened.

It's not like anyone will listen to them anyways. 

So she decides, if she's to face the wrath of her mother. Let it be tomorrow, when she isn't feeling dreadful.

Plus, she's curious on what Eda's.. position is. She definitely didn't seem like a bad person, by what Luz has witnessed so far. Hell, Luz being inside her cabin is enough proof of that.

When she looks up, Eda waits for her answer patiently. Luz looks away, before nodding to herself about her choice.

"I... I'll go tomorrow.. afternoon. H-Hopefully, she thinks I just fell asleep and didn't check on me. Maybe she won't notice." She knows she probably will. Her job kept Camila working, but Luz made her work harder.

Eda seemed more at ease now, nodding and agreeing with her. They fell into a silence that wasn't exactly comfortable, nor uncomfortable. Just kinda.. odd? 

Luz was just thinking of what she's going to do now. When she goes back to school tomorrow, no doubt are Thomas and his group going to target her. She shudders at the thought. 

"So are you tired? I don't know, you might be exhausted after... All of today," Eda broke the silence, curiously looking over at the young girl.

Luz just hums, "Not really.. for now anyways.."

Eda carefully stands up and Luz watches her, observing what the older woman is going to do. She grabs the brush she placed beside her and hands it to Luz, before heading to the kitchen, turning on the stove. 

"What's this for?" She asks, although the answer is probably obvious.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, kid, your hair is a mess. I got most of the leaves out, but well..."

Luz brings her hands to her medium length hair, carefully running her fingers through the thick, brown curls slowly. Knots kept interrupting their pace, and she hissed when she undid them. 

Huffing and grabbing the brush, she started to brush it slowly but surely. 

"Tea?" Eda asks, breaking the silence again.

Actually, something to drink doesn't sound that bad. Even if it's something like tea, which she never really gave a chance. Can't hurt to try..

"Yes, please," she responds politely. They once more fall into silence, but this time with Eda's shuffling and her hair brushing as background noise. It feels oddly relaxing, and Luz let's herself completely relax, dropping her shoulders completely. 

So far, she hasn't been too overwhelmed. 

Minutes fly by quickly, and Luz finally got her hair to behave. She sighs tiredly, and snatches a hair tie from her pocket. Her mom always told her to bring extra ones, and now she's kind of thankful for that. 

When she finishes wrapping her hair into a short ponytail, Eda comes back to sit next to her again, two mugs in her hand. 

She hands one to Luz, the sweet smell immediately floods her senses, sending her into a state of tranquility. Luz lets it cool out a little, before taking a sip.

Oh man. From what she's heard, tea was bitter and definitely not up Luz's alley. But this one was, the liquid tasting like flowers and honey, warmth settling in her belly.

Eda notices her expressions and laughs, "That's the power of chamomile tea for you. It's like.. a wave of calm."

Luz nods, thanking Eda once more for the drink. She needs to learn how to make this, her mother would love it. 

"Hey, I'm still curious... why were those kids.. y'know."

Luz knew this was going to pop up eventually, but she wasn't as anxious about it as she was before. Maybe the tea is magical or something. 

"I'll spill if you let me ask a few questions of my own," she replies, looking over at Eda.

"Ha, alright then, kid," Eda chuckles, "Well, ask away!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter, done! And I introduce to you all... Eda!
> 
> Last chapter I didn't give away Luz's appearance (Totally intentional btw) and so I tried to incorporate it in this one.. hopefully it looked as natural as I wanted it too. 
> 
> (By the way, do not treat injuries in the way Eda did, while some ways aren't completely wrong, it's better to do research on how to properly do it instead of just wrapping it up and hoping it works.. Eda just isn't a professional lol)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, see you next chapter!


	3. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and Eda learn a little about each other and Luz goes back home to a worried mother.

The conversation Luz and Eda had that late night wasn't as awkward as either of them expected. It was just them telling each other certain things about themselves. 

Like playing a game, one would share a fun, or not so fun, fact and the other would reply with something in return. Their conversations felt.. natural. Not forced, like both of them were used to.

It was certainly a nice change of pace for Luz, considering how badly she did with introductions and first impressions. Though, technically speaking, neither of them made a great first impression on the other. 

"And that.. is how to successfully pick any house lock! Always good to know."

But considering Eda was teaching her how to commit certain crimes, Luz realized Eda probably didn't care about them.

"Hmm.. how about.. handcuffs!"

And considering Luz was actually interested in what Eda was saying, one could say she didn't mind them much herself.

"Easy! See, the trick is to-"

Eda told different types of stories from her younger years, and her interesting relationship with the law, when she traveled around in search for any action to participate in. Luz listened to her wacky adventures, fully immersed. She could only dream of doing what Eda did. She was so cool, so careless of what others thought. She couldn't lie, Luz wanted what Eda had. 

Luz didn't have much of tale to tell, considering she wasn't much of a traveler herself. She just said things about herself, like her interests, hobbies, and home life. School was a touchy subject that she wasn't ready just yet to share with Eda, so when asked about it, she responded that it could be better.

Eda seemed to take the hint and decided to continue her own stories. She was practically bragging about them to Luz. And Luz enjoyed it.

Mentally, Luz stored any 'valuable' information Eda gave somewhere in her brain. She hoped she wouldn't ever need it, but it was.. information. She can't pass that up easily.

A few hours later, Luz felt exhaustion hit her out of nowhere.

Eda was in the middle of telling some story about how her dog almost bit someone's ear off when she noticed that Luz fell asleep.

* * *

When Luz woke up, she assumed it was some time around noon. When she sat up, she could still feel lingering pain, but it wasn't anything too serious. Unlike yesterday, today her legs decided to work with her.

She only wobbled a little, getting used to the feeling of not having to stand up for half a day. Luz stretched her legs, and arms, testing their mobility. 

Certainly way better than yesterday. 

Sure, her clothes were messed up as all hell, not to mention dirty. But she could always wash them... Well, her sweater should probably be thrown out, it's definitely not coming back from all the slashes and tears. 

She calls out for Eda, hoping to thank her and say her goodbyes before leaving. And maybe get some directions. A yellow sticky note on the wall next to the couch caught her attention. 

_'Had to leave early today. Take care of those wounds. It was good talking to you Luz._

_Bye_

_-Eda_

_P.s. follow the gravel path and then take a right, you should find the main road. Don't let me find you again in my woods kid'_

Luz smiles, thankful that Eda was kind enough not to just up and leave without some kind of help.

She walks up to the door, and swings it open. The afternoon warmth melts her worries for a few seconds, and she inhales the air. The earthy tree smell is relaxing in any other setting, but not in this one.

Luz steps outside, closing the door behind her and sighs nervously. She starts her way down the path Eda mentioned, but instead of paying attention to where she's going, her thoughts are somewhere else right now.

She's about to walk home to her mom, who she hasn't seen since yesterday morning, after spending time with a wanted woman. Not to mention how patched up she is. 

Oh god, she's probably going to want to see her injuries. And that's when she's totally fucked. 

The excuse of falling down a ditch could possibly work. But then what was she going to say about not coming home? Could she say she slept in the ditch? That might earn some sympathy points.

Luz shakes her head, deciding to focus on the path ahead of her. She'd rather not fall and add another injury to her list. And about her mom?

Well...

Luz will cross that bridge when she gets there.

Which is probably soon.

Fuck.

* * *

Luz now stood at her front door, and a fresh wave of nervousness hit her once again. Her hand is placed at the knob of the door, her heart pounding in her chest.

After a few minutes of standing there, she finally gets the courage to open the door. Luz inhales deeply, and exhales slowly as her hand turns the knob, opening the door. 

Silence. 

That's the first sign something is off. Usually on Friday's Camila has small amounts of work to do, and the hospital let's her go out early, only calling if there's any big scale emergencies. Because of this, she takes time to tidy up her house, cleaning dirty floors, taking out the trash, and other chores she won't get to on the weekends.

This became a routine, and Luz was also in it, helping her mom with whatever tasks she may be put up to. Whether that be buying groceries, or something small like checking the mail. She always did them, happy to help her mom in something.

So Luz was surprised when she didn't hear any shuffling, or any background music. Just pure silence. 

She stepped inside, and once the door shut behind her she heard her mother's voice from the kitchen.

"Luz Noceda."

At the angry tone, she winced. If the Earth could swallow her whole right now, that would be very appreciated. 

"Where were you, señorita?"

"I.. I stayed after school to finish a p-project.. and f-fell asleep.."

"Really? Then why did the school call me to tell me you ditched all of your classes yesterday?"

Oh shit, she forgot about that part. Don't be so judgemental, give her a break, she's trying here.

"And what is that on your face?"

No, actually, do judge her. Because Luz is an idiot. An idiot who forgot about her face looking like a mess, looking like she got out of a fight. Which she did technically.

Luz turns her head away, as if that would hide the bruise on her face, or the cut on her arm, or the gauzes that covered her stomach.

Camila rushed over to the teen, inspecting her face and gasping.

"Por Dios, Luz. What happened to you?!"

Luz doesn't speak, instead continues to not make eye contact, because she knows. She knows she will break down and cry. She knows her mom will want an explanation. She knows she's going to have to tell her about all those years of being picked on. She knows she'll have to explain that it wasn't clumsiness that day she limped back home. And she's not ready.

"It's... It's nothing, mamá. I'm okay," Luz tried to hide the quiver in her voice, but she knew that her mom had already caught it. 

"Ay, mija.. please.. tell me.. who did this to you? Was it that girl from your math class? Or the boy from english? Or the-"

"No!" Both of them are shocked by Luz's outburst, recoiling from the sound of her voice. Luz tried speaking again, now calmer.

"S-Sorry... But no.. This is no one's fault, ma.. no one's fault but my own."

And as much as she hates to admit it, it's true. Luz wanted to fit in so badly, but she couldn't. Even after going to that hellhole of a camp, she still wasn't normal enough. People still knew her as Luz Noceda, the girl who was too fucked up for anything. 

It didn't bother her much in middle school. She was almost used to it. But when she got to highschool, that's when it suddenly begun to hurt. Being left out, being shunned, being bullied.

Yet, she shouldn't blame anyone. It was her own fault for being so.. herself.

"I just.. want to lay down.. please?" She pleaded with her mother. She couldn't handle it anymore. 

Then her stomach growled, and suddenly she was aware of just how hungry she was. Damn, when was the last time she ate?

"I'll make you something okay? Go upstairs and get yourself cleaned up.. then let me take a look at you properly.."

Luz nods, thankful that the subject would be dropped for now. She gives her mom a quick hug, muttering a thanks. Slowly, she walks upstairs, but before she got too far her mother spoke one last time.

"We'll talk about how you got those another time."

Luz didn't want to. But she knows she can't hide everything forever. Her mom probably has a good idea of what happened too.

"I know.. I promise we will."

And Luz rushes upstairs, not waiting for a response. She shuts her door to her room and drops on her bed, facing the ceiling.

Well... That didn't go completely horribly. She expected worse honestly. After a few minutes of debating whether she should just stay there or actually fix herself up, she finally gets up. 

When she thinks about it, a shower would be nice right about now. So she makes her way into the bathroom, towel in hand and ready to be clean once again.

* * *

Oh yeah, that felt amazing. The warm water made her feel relaxed, and washing away dirt and grime off of her hair and body was satisfying. 

Once she was out, she couldn't deny she felt way better and cleaner. She put on some comfortable clothing, consisting of a random shirt and sweats. In the middle of drying her hair completely, she heard her mom calling for her downstairs. 

She steeled herself, and headed downstairs towards the kitchen, where the small table was located. The smell made her drool, and she rushed to sit down where the plate was. Her mom sat in front of her, watching her daughter devour the contents of the plate. 

The food itself was, as expected from her mamá, absolutely fucking delicious. She asked for seconds, whether that be because she was hungry or because it was just so good was anyone's guess.

"Gracias, mamá, that was delicious," she said gratefully, smiling.

"De nada, mija," Camila said with a chuckle at her child's antics, before her tone became softer, "Now.. may I please see what happened to you?"

Luz stiffened, but agreed. Unlike Eda, her mom was a nurse, she knew what she was doing. No offense to the other woman, but she just doesn't seem much of a healer type. 

The following minutes are spent in the upstairs bathroom, Camila inspecting certain wounds and cleaning them properly. Luz winces every time pressure is put on a certain spot, which is most of the time unfortunately.

The ointment applied to Luz is cold, leaving a minty feeling behind. It's horrible, and she wants to wipe it right off.

When they're done, Camila lets Luz go, not bringing up any issues from before. She trusts Luz will tell her with time.

Yes, that's all the girl needs, time.

That night, sleep didn't come as easy to both Noceda women. But soon enough, both feel drowsy and later, sleep engulfs them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now.. chapter 3 is done! Yay.. sorry if it seemed slightly rushed at the end, I wanted to put this chapter out before Thursday because of something coming up. 
> 
> Apart from that, I also slightly edited the description of this series to a more fitting one.
> 
> I think we have.. 2 chapters left for the introduction to be over. I'm excited for next chapter though, we will get to see more Eda and Luz bonding time, which is nice. I'll try to get it out by next Thursday hopefully. Anyways, see y'all then!


	4. Late Night Drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz goes out one night to think and ends up in an interesting situation.

The days that followed were... Slow. Quiet and only a little uncomfortable. Luz barely came out of her room, except when she needed to eat. Camila tried not to press her child into answering anything, but it was hard. She was worried!

The following school week that Luz went through wasn't as horrible as she expected. The typically rude comments flew over head, not taking anything to heart as always. She stayed clear of the areas where Thomas and the popular kids would be, successfully avoiding any big conflict.

While the news of Ethan's murder was still one of the biggest things at school, it became less talked about. Luz assumed people just got bored about it, considering there was no new information about it yet. Which is heartless in itself, but she isn't surprised. That's just how the folks are around here. For now, there was no suspect, but she was hoping that would change very soon.

It was now the second week of May, and summer break was only half a week away. 

Although Luz knew her break wouldn't be as exciting as other's, she was still hopeful something nice would happen. Even if it was as simple as visiting family, it would be better than staying here. Her uncles were the absolute best this time around too.

It's now a early Sunday morning. Luz wakes up feeling less enthusiastic than usual. All she wants to do is lay in bed, but part of her also wants to do something productive. She decides the warmth of her bed is enough to keep her in for now.

Her mom comes in her room, giving her a kiss on the forehead, before leaving home to another day of work ahead of her. She debated staying home, doing this more than once. But when Luz says she'll be okay, Camila doesn't argue. 

Luz doesn't want her home again, does she? 

That hurts Camila to think, so she pushes it into the back of her mind, ignoring the thought for the rest of the day.

* * *

Apparently, doing some unfinished homework in hopes that it gets Luz to feel _something_ wasn't working. It was just boring as hell, especially with no motivation to even try.

Luz places the math work inside her notebook, postponing it to later. She has until tomorrow morning anyways, she'll get some of it done. Enough for a seventy if she's lucky, just enough to keep her grade in the not failing range.

Maybe doing some other work would be better, math was a bitch, but other subjects wouldn't kill her.

Turns out, she was wrong. The other subjects did kill her. Lovely.

She pulls out her phone, hoping to find something online to distract her for the time being. And she does, scrolling through fanart of the recent anime she's been watching, or watching random videos that look interesting.

She goes downstairs to get a snack, listening to some guy rant about fan theories and how they would be wrong or right on live. It was mostly entertaining until the ships got involved, and that's when hell broke loose.

After a very popular ship was deemed as unrealistic, the chat exploded with leaked IP addresses. That's when she clicked away, praying to any God above everyone there would survive.

* * *

Her mom came home earlier than usual, at around 9. Luz was still somewhat tense about what had happened in the earlier weeks. But her mom hasn't brought it up so far unless Luz were to speak up about it. She only shared bits and pieces of what happened, but never enough to reveal everything.

All Camila knew was that there was a problem that escalated too quickly. No names, or reasonings were shared.

They ate dinner, mostly in silence at first. Curiously, Camila asked, "By the way.. where did you sleep.. that night?"

Luz wasn't sure how to answer at first, debating if she should be truthful or not. She better not worry her mom anymore, so she goes with a.. simple answer.

"Library! I managed to hide behind one of the shelves.. I left as soon as they opened," Luz paused to chew, before continuing, "Uh, the lady at the convenience store let me borrow the gauzes.."

"For free? Is this the same Mrs. Regan we're talking about?" Camila chuckles, knowing well that lady only cared about the money she earned, using any tactic to earn as much as possible. It was shocking.

Luz can only nod, shoving a spoonful into her mouth. She hopes her mom doesn't press because she doubts she can keep hiding things from her. Sure, it's not good to lie and what not, but would her mom really want to hear about her time spent with a super cool criminal lady? Yeah, thought so.

She finished with the plate in front of her, thanking her mom for the food with a smile. Despite knowing Luz isn't one to usually hold much against people, Camila is still grateful everytime her daughter smiles at her so genuinely.

* * *

Luz can't sleep. It's not a complete shock, considering she didn't do much today to tire herself out, but still.

After so much tossing and turning, Luz finally opens her eyes with a groan. She rolls on her side, reaching over to her nightstand to pick up her phone. When it clicks on, she squints, her eyes getting used to the new light after being in the dark for so long.

1:19 AM it reads.

Her mom's definitely fast asleep by now, waiting for work to call her early again tomorrow. Luz doubts she'll make any plans after school tomorrow, considering she'd rather not be seen in town at the moment. 

But, at the same time she wants to go outside. To take a walk, maybe clear her head.

At first she stifles it, not wanting to do anything reckless _again._ But when the urge starts to get to her, she just.. doesn't fight it anymore.

Luz sits up and kicks the covers off of her, easily jumping out of bed. She rummages through her closet, and after a few seconds finds what she's looking for, letting out an 'Aha!' in the process.

She quickly wraps the leather pilot jacket around herself. It was definitely too big, reminding Luz that she has a long way to go before she can finally fit it correctly. But it's warm and fuzzy, and all she needs at the moment.

She slides on her sneakers, ties her hair back, and pockets her phone.

Quickly, but silently she makes her way to the front door. This isn't the first time she's been outside like this before, but it sure feels like it every time. The rush still remains, even when she's already outside making her way down to her favorite spot.

A bridge near the outskirts of town. No one has ever used it in all her time of being here, so it's a nice quiet place to go. Luz can see the stars and the moon when she looks up, or she could play loud music, and there wouldn't be anybody to say anything about it.

The walk from her home to the bridge would be around fifteen minutes, but Luz had a found a shorter way that only took five. She wasn't planning on being out all night, just enough to think.

She passes the gasoline station, noting how there's only two cars and a bike stationed near it. She silently wonders who'd be out this time of night. Then again, she isn't one to judge.

A car's engine loudly comes to life, making Luz jump at the loud unexpected noise. She turns her head towards the sound, and headlamps are pointed directly to her.

_Oh no._

Luz picks up her pace, hunching over to avoid being seen by face. It was definitely too late though, she had been spotted. 

The car had slowly made itself move towards her, matching her walking speed. 

Luz was almost out of the station's lights, hoping she could hide in the dark. Unfortunately, the car had already pulled up next to her, rolling down it's window to reveal the driver inside. 

"Eda!?" Luz gasps shockingly. Out of everyone she expected to see, the older woman was not on the list. She hadn't seen Eda anywhere around town, so Luz just assumed she didn't go out or something. 

"Heya, kid! Mind explaining what you're doing all the way out here this time of night?" Eda asks from her spot in the driver's seat. Luz, not being blinded anymore, actually takes a good look at the car she's in. 

It was a deep reddish brown, seemingly, older model of a.. Mustang? Luz thinks it's a Mustang, it looks like ones from the older movies she and her mom watched. Either way, it looked sick as hell and totally fit Eda's aesthetic.

Luz ignores the question and whistles, "Nice ride, you got here!" The paint job was sleek enough she swore she could see her reflection in it.

Eda grins, "You have a good eye, glad you like good ol' Owlbert here."

"Owlbert?"

"Hell yeah," Eda starts, patting the car door gently before continuing, "That's what I like to call him anyways."

"Sweet! I've never got to name my car before! Well.. N-Not that I've ever had one.. but when I do, I'm totally naming it something cool!" Luz said excitedly. Eda chuckles at the kid's antics before an the station employee interrupts them both, slamming the glass door open.

"Hey, get back here, you witch! You can't fucking pay with monopoly money!"

"Ha! It took this guy almost an hour to finally notice," Eda laughs. She turn to Luz who's looking between the angry employee and Eda. 

"Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Get in!" 

Luz looks at Eda like she's crazy. There is no way she's going to-

"Kid, it's either Owlbert or some shitty police car, hurry up!"

That quickly gets Luz to move her feet, rushing over to Owlbert's passenger side. She covers her face with her hand, hoping the employee won't recognize her.

She swings the car door open and jumps inside, closing it with maybe a little too much force.

Luz barely gets a second to sit properly before Eda steps on the pedal. The engine roars loudly, now moving forward very quickly. Suddenly, Eda takes a sharp turn and Luz hears the tires screeching as they swerve on the road.

"EDA, WATCH THE SIGN!"

"WHAT SIGN?!"

" _THAT_ SIGN!" Luz points ahead of them, and Eda narrowly misses the stop sign in front of them. She stepped on the breaks, sending Luz flying forward without a seatbelt.

"OW! HEY!"

Luz rubs the shoulder that took most of the impact, thankful it wasn't her head. That would not have ended well.

"Jeez, sorry about that, kid. I didn't know how shitty this road is."

"Just.. wait... You can drive right?!"

Eda gives her a look, "What? Of course I can drive! Hell, I'm the best driver you'll ever see, kid!"

Luz doesn't fully believe her. Instead she leans back on the seat, not wanting to argue with the older woman. Eda huffs, deciding to just drive the car in peace. 

Luz finally looks at the nice leather interior, noting how well taken care of it looked. Almost as if it was a brand new car. Owlbert was it? Eda definitely had a thing for owls, though in a way, it fit her.

Looking out the window, Luz tried to figure out where Eda's trying to going. 

"Where you heading?"

Eda ponders for a second, "You know if there's any food or something around? I'm kinda hungry."

Luz nods, "If you turn left into the city, there should be a few fast-food places to grab a bite."

"Cool, so I'm gonna head over there. If you want me to drop you off somewhere, speak up." Eda says, because from the perspective of anyone else, it might look like she's kidnapping the teen if she doesn't ask.

Luz thinks about it. Which is enough of a red sign on its own. Her answer should've been something along the lines of 'Yes please, it's late and I should get home'. But well, it wasn't like she had anything else to do, and she could still go a few hours before exhaustion hit her.

Pulling out her phone for the time, she now knows it's only 1:29 AM. 

"Kid?" Eda's voice snaps her out of her thoughts as she slows down at the final turn before entering city grounds, waiting for Luz to make up her mind. 

Luz shrugs and leans back into the seat comfortably, "You mind if I join you?"

Eda gives a shrug of her own, "No, but I don't promise to buy you anything."

Luz smiles at her thankfully. "Yeah, it's fine. Do you have an AUX?"

Eda smirks, "Yup.. just press this bad boy and.." she presses a spot under the radio, and it slides open smoothly, revealing a little port with a red auxiliary cord.

"Ohhhh.. may I?" 

"Eh, sure. But I swear, if your taste in music is crappy, I'm kicking you out."

Luz laughs and challenges, "You wouldn't!"

"Try it, I dare you." Eda replies seriously.

Luz grins, plugging her phone in and proceeds to look for the best song to irritate Eda with.

The car speakers are filled with the opening of 'Barbie Girl' and Eda glares at Luz. 

"Nice try, kid. But I'll have you know, this was my jam when it came out!" 

Eda starts singing along to the song and Luz giggles hearing the woman try to hit some of the higher notes. Her voice was not built for singing, no offense. Then again, she didn't think her's was much better. 

Even so, she found herself joining Eda, despite being very off key. But she was having fun. 

* * *

"Enjoy, have a nice night!"

"Yeah, you too, thanks." 

The employee hands Eda a bag, filled with greasy junk food that isn't healthy for anyone to be eating at this hour, along with two small Sprites.

She rolls up her window and parks the car in the McDonald's parking lot.

"I thought you weren't going to get me anything," Luz teases as Eda hands her the medium-sized fries she ordered and a straw.

"Hey, I only did it so I wouldn't look bad," Eda defends herself, taking a big bite out of her Big Mac, "Like, there's this scrawny kid next to me about to watch me devour this thing."

"I am _not_ scrawny!" Luz pouts, in an offended manner. Sure, okay, she has nerd arms and is not the most fit person on earth, but like.. she was not _scrawny._

"That jacket doesn't help your case y'know. Are you trying to make a fashion statement or something?"

"Hey! Leave the jacket out of this! Still," Luz pops some fries into her mouth, "Thanks, I'll pay you back somehow.."

"Ha, I doubt it. By the time you get the money I'll be out of here!"

That makes Luz stop stuffing the salty fries into her mouth, "You're leaving?"

"Back to my hometown. I should've been back a few days ago, but I decided to stay for a little longer," Eda explains casually.

Luz feels a little disappointed about Eda leaving. As sad as it is, Eda's been one of the only people who has shown her some form of kindness. In her own way of course. But she guesses it's for the best. Eda deserves to go home, where she belongs and Luz will stay here. Where she... Lives.

"What made you stay longer than necessary? I mean, I probably would've gone home as soon as I could," Luz asks, ready to hear another one of Eda's interesting reasonings for doing a certain thing.

"The news of the dead kid." 

That made Luz choke on her drink. She coughs and splutters, smacking herself in the chest to get some form of oxygen into her system. She finally regains composure and glances over at Eda.

"You.. you knew?"

"Of course I did! What the hell, you think I live in the forest or something?"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that."

Luz chuckles, "Right, right," she plays with a fry between her fingers, mainly as a distraction, "I assume you also know that-"

"That you're the main suspect?" Eda cuts her off, not bothering to look at Luz. She just continues to eat her burger in peace with an unreadable expression.

"Y-Yeah.." Luz scratches the back of her head, suddenly feeling really awkward. Despite knowing Eda was bound to find out, she still wishes she hadn't. Luz prepares for what's about to happen, Eda will ask her to get out of the car and drive away, and she'll never see her again. She supposes it isn't the worst fate someone like her could have.

"I don't buy it." 

Luz snaps her head up. "W-What?" Her voice comes out shakey and she feels lightheaded. Did.. did she hear that correctly?

"You heard me, Luz. I know you're innocent." Eda confidently states.

Yet, Luz felt as if she was lying, trying to deceive Luz into spilling something incriminating. "H-How... do you know?"

"Your eyes."

"My.. my eyes?! That's all?! How can you-" she got cut off when Eda's eyes meet Luz's, and the teen doesn't see a shred of doubt or untruthfulness. Just sincerity. 

"Where I was growing up," the older woman starts slowly, "My old man used to tell me to always watch the eyes. They can tell someone's story in a fascinating way."

"I didn't believe him, because it sounded dumb at the time.. but turns out he was right, as he always was," Eda laughs bitterly, nostalgia hitting her hard.

"Naturally, I've seen the eyes of horrible people. And they're all the same. Cold, fake, and dull. After you've taken the life of someone or done something horrible, you immediately desensitize yourself completely and lose that emotion."

Eda turns to look at Luz, "Your's are nothing like that. In fact.. they.. almost remind of.." 

"So.. you.. you believe in me? I-In my innocence?!" Luz asks, wanting to desperately cry in relief. Finally, someone.. someone else other than her mom that knows she wouldn't do anything sick like that.

So far, the town has all been against her. She knows the looks she gets when going out of her home to school. Or how parents 'protect' their kids from her. Or the people talking behind her back in hushed tones. As soon as she acknowledged them, they'd apologize profoundly, begging for forgiveness and mercy. Almost like they believed they were next if they got on her nerves.

But Eda doesn't believe she did it. Or that she would hurt anyone like that. It feels good, knowing someone else knew she was innocent. 

Eda seems to snap out of whatever trance she was in and nods, "Totally. You don't have that spark and that's a-"

The older woman gets cut off as Luz jumps from her side to Eda's, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Eda barely has time to react to this, and as a consequence accidentally elbows Luz in the nose.

Luz yelps and pulls away, tears streaming down her face, her hand on her nose. Eda immediately feels bad and tries to apolgize. 

"Shit! Sorry, Luz, but don't do that so sud-"

"No, no! I'm fine.. it's just-" Luz sniffles, smiling over at Eda, "I'm so glad you believe in me."

Eda sends her a smile of her own. She reaches into the brown paper bag and hands the teen some napkins to wipe off the snot and tears. 

"Thanks, Eda... Again."

"No problem, Luz."

* * *

It's around 3:05 AM when Eda drops Luz off near her home. After the events at McDonald's they both decided to call it a night.

Luz thanks Eda one last time before jogging back home. She entered her home without any unforeseen issues, and made it to her room without disturbing her mom.

She takes the jacket off, throwing it to the other side of the room, soon followed by her shoes. She plugs her phone into it's charger, leaving it on the nightstand and falls back on her bed. 

Now, Luz will have to run on around five or four hours of sleep. Which isn't the worst thing ever, she's magically accomplished to run a whole day on only two hours. 

Remembering the events earlier, she feels at ease. She isn't as alone as she thought, and maybe, just maybe, there are others in town who believe that Luz is innocent too. 

She entertained this thought a little more than she probably should have, but it's comforting. And so, she can finally sleep, after almost two hours of being unable to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really late... but here is chapter 4!
> 
> This was just an excuse to kinda write a shred more about Eda's background to be honest.  
>    
> I don't have anymore to add, except for the fact that next chapter will (probably if I don't decide to split the chapter) be the last of this part, and so we will begin our adventures in Bonesborough soon.
> 
> Ima try and do it by hopefully this weekend, but who knows.. alrighty, see you next time then!


End file.
